Gay Republicans dissatisfied with the direction of gay group Log Cabin Republicans have decided to strike out on their own.

The new group, GOProud (GOProud.org), will be launched this week, its founders say. The nascent group will be helmed by Christopher Barron, a former Log Cabin political director. Barron says the new group is needed because Log Cabin no longer represents the politics of the gay conservative.

“Essentially, there's no voice for gay Republicans or gay conservatives in particular in D.C. right now. Log Cabin has been completely and totally absent here in D.C. For months and months,” Barron told Politico's Ben Smith. “It has simply moved way too far to the left and is basically indistinguishable from any other gay left organization.”

At GayPatriot.com, Bruce Carroll announced the formation of the new group and his own involvement on the board. He agrees with Barron that Log Cabin has drifted too left.

“Their left-of-center positions on important issues have bothered me as LCR has continually sucked the teet of the Gay Leftist agenda,” Carroll wrote. “LCR's silence and unwillingness to stand up and be vocal on true gay conservative issues (outing of Republican staffers, increasing threat of gays being selectively aborted, peril gays face by Islamic extremists) has been mind-boggling. And LCR's continued obsession in trashing Republicans, yet letting Democrats get a pass on their gay-related hypocrisies, has been infuriating.”

Tensions flared after gay weekly Washington Blade revealed that Tim Gill, an openly gay prominent Democratic philanthropist, was among the group's largest donors.

The paper cited sources saying that the Gill Action Fund contributed about one-third of the group's budget in 2007 and 2008, and that it was involved in decision making at the Republican group. The revelations raised concerns over the extent of Democratic influence at Log Cabin.

Log Cabin itself appears to be coming apart at the seams just weeks before hosting its annual convention in Washington D.C. President Patrick Sammon and Communications Director Scott Tucker resigned their posts in January, leaving consultants to work on its four-day convention that opens April 16. And the group says it expects to cut 2009 spending by as much as 40%.

Senator John McCain's presidential campaign manager Steve Schmidt and the senator's daughter, Meghan McCain, are scheduled to speak at the convention. Both Republicans support gay marriage.

“If your main issue is hate crimes or [federal anti-discrimination legislation] or marriage, you're probably not a Republican,” Barron said, adding that he supports those issues at the state level, not the federal.